office-boy

An office-boy delivers a stack of envelopes to a manager's desk.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A young male employee in an office, typically tasked with performing minor errands, such as delivering messages, carrying documents, or fetching items for senior staff.

Usage Examples

• (A young man performing a routine errand for the office.)
• (A junior role that involves handling small tasks and learning office operations.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be the office-boy": to be the person who handles menial or petty tasks in a workplace, often used metaphorically.
  • Even though he had a degree, he felt like the office-boy because he only made coffee and sorted mail. (He felt undervalued and assigned trivial duties.)

Variants and Related Words

• Office girl (n): a young female employee who performs similar minor errands in an office.

  • The office girl delivered the morning tea to the conference room. (A female counterpart to an office-boy.)

• Office worker (n): a general term for any employee in an office, regardless of rank or gender.

  • All office workers must attend the safety training. (A broader category including all clerical staff.)

Synonyms

• Errand boy: a young person employed to run errands, especially in a commercial setting.

  • The errand boy cycled across town to deliver the package. (A synonym emphasizing the task of running errands.)

• Messenger: a person who carries messages or parcels, often in an office.

  • The messenger brought the urgent documents from the head office. (A synonym focusing on the delivery function.)

Related Idioms

• Gofer: a person who runs errands and does small, often menial tasks (derived from "go for").

  • She started as a gofer in the publishing house, fetching coffee and books. (An informal synonym for office-boy.)

• Boy Friday: a young male assistant who handles a variety of small jobs (from the character in Robinson Crusoe).

  • He acted as the boss's boy Friday, organizing files and making travel arrangements. (A historical idiom for a versatile junior helper.)

Phrasal Verbs (None directly applicable to office-boy as a noun; however, related phrasal verbs for the role include:)

• Run errands: to perform small tasks or deliveries.
  • The office-boy ran errands for the entire department. (The action associated with the role.)